Handtruck adapter for handling long heavy objects

ABSTRACT

An adapter is provided for permitting handling of long heavy objects such as rolls of floor covering on a conventional handtruck. The adapter comprises a lightweight configuration which is readily attached to or removed from the associated handtruck, is contoured to conform to cylindrical loads such as rolls of floor covering or the like, and designed to accommodate a wide range of sizes. The adapter is of simple design, portable, requires a minimum of storage space, and is relatively inexpensive.

United States Patent Blas [111 3,885,687 [451 May 27, 1975 372,976 436,619 9/1890 Weathers 3,395,818

HANDTRUCK ADAPTER FOR HANDLING LONG HEAVY OBJECTS Inventor: Seymour E. Blas, 54 Linderman Ave., Kingston, N.Y. 12401 Filed: June 7, 1973 Appl. No.2 367,846

US. Cl 214/372; 280/4728 Int. Cl B62b 1/04 Field of Search 280/4728, 47.32, 47.27,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1887 Heilman 214/372 X 8/1968 Diebold 3,603,608 9/1971 Kirkpatrick 280/47.13 R

Primary ExaminerDavid Schonberg Assistant- Examiner.lohn A. Pekar Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Joseph J. Connerton [5 7] ABSTRACT 4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures HANDTRUCK ADAPTER FOR HANDLING LONG HEAVY OBJECTS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a handtruck adapter and more particularly to a lightweight portable attachment which converts a conventional handtruck into a carrier of large heavy cylindrical objects such as carpeting, linoleum, matting, etc.

In enterprises associated with floor covering, for example, it is necessary to receive and store various forms of heavy floor covering prior to installation, as well as delivery and installation of such floor covering. Rolls of carpeting or padding, for example, may be substantially large in diameter and weigh hundreds of pounds, and vary in length to feet or more. Such objects because of their weight and size are extremely difficult to bandle without equipment such as specialized dollies which are relatively large and expensive, difficult to manipulate, require relatively large storage facilities, and are limited in utility to a special function whereby they are rendered impractical for the average floor covering enterprise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Virtually all floor covering enterprises utilize conventional handtrucks for receiving and storing loads and packages adapted for moving by such handtrucks. The present invention provides a relatively simple adaptor for such a handtruck which is not permanently affixed to the handtruck, but when attached converts the handtruck into a carrier for heavy objects such as floor covering which can be readily manipulated by an individual. When heavy objects such as floor coverings are placed on the adapter, it is readily moved by an individual operator by merely lifting the lower end of the roll of material on the adapter. When thus lifted, the adapter causes the handles of the handtruck to rise from the ground, permitting the handtruck to be manipulated as a dolly or wagon by an individual operator. The attachment is lightweight, portable, requires no tools to attach to the handtruck. requires virtually no storage space when not in use, and is designed for simplicity in unloading. By means of the present invention, a conventional handtruck is adapted to carry irregularly shaped objects far exceeding the normal capability for which the handtruck is designed requiring a minimum effort of the operator.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an adapter for a handtruck for handling large heavy objects.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a lightweight portable attachment which is adapted to convert a handtruck to a vehicle for manipulating long and heavy cylindrical objects by an individual operator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a handtruck adapter having a contoured frame for cradling long heavy objects laterally along the longitudinal axis of said objects.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a handtruck adapter comprising an open framework of tubular members which is simple and economical to manufacture, easy to store, and which converts a conventional handtruck into a carrier of long heavy objects.

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a handtruck with the adapter affixed thereto.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the handtruck adapter.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the handtruck adapter.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the combined handtruck and associated adapter.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, the side elevation view illustrates a handtruck 1 comprising side members 3, wheels 5, and rear handle members 7. As more fully described hereinafter, the side members of the handtruck are connected at intervals by support members, not visible in FIG. 1, and in the horizontal position with handle members 7 on the floor, the side members 3 of the handtruck are substantially parallel to the floor. The front of the handtruck includes an upwardly projecting blade 9 which normally functions to position the load being moved by the handtruck. The adapter, as more fully described hereinafter, comprises a frame having a generally rectangular configuration adapted to be positioned on the handtruck, and is slightly wider than the handtruck as shown in FIG. 4. The adapter includes a series of interconnected tubular members which may comprise in a preferred embodiment one inch interior diameter steel or aluminum rods with reinforced cross members as shown for additional strength.

Referring briefly to FIG. 2, a top view of the adapter without the handtruck is illustrated. Parallel tubular members 11 and 13 are interconnected by members 15 and 17 around the outer periphery of the attachment, although the outer frame may be composed by a single tubular member bent at the desired angle at the corners thereof. A cross member 19 is attached at points 21, 23 to opposite sides 11, 13 of the frame and parallel to frame members 15, 17 for additional support. The cross member 19 is attached to the frame at points 21, 23 of the frame by any conventional means such as bolting, welding, etc., the latter being used in a preferred embodiment constructed in accordance with the teachings of the instant invention. The cross member 19 has an opening 25 in the bottom portion thereof which is shown in solid form for purposes of clarity and also illustrated in FIG. I. This opening is sufficiently large to not only accommodate the blade 9 of the handtruck but permits the blade to slide off the truck when unloading the truck without requiring turning of the handtruck. The blade when inserted in the cross member functions as the fulchrum of the load, approximately half the length of the floor covering being positioned on each side of the fulchrum, although precision in load placement is not cirtical. In a handtruck having a 12 inch blade, for example, the opening 25 might be 14%inches. To accommodate a range of blade sizes, the opening 25 is designed to accomodate the largest blade size since the weight of the load will keep the adapter in place, or alternately the opening 25 could be designed for a specific size blade. Such a design feature is not difficult, since handtrucks and blades used in floor covering enterprises come in a limited number of standard sizes.

The adapter is reinforced by struts 27, 29 running from cross member 19 to the front of frame 11, while reinforcing members 31, 33 extend from cross member 19 to the opposite sides in the rear portion of frame 11. These reinforcing members may be conventional rectangular or tubular members which are attached to the frame by any conventional technique, the reinforcing members being welded to the frame in the preferred embodiment. Since the opening 25 in the adapter mates with the blade 9 of the handtruck, the adapter extends beyond the front of the handtruck as shown in FIG. 1. In a preferred embodiment constructed in accordance with the teaching of the instant invention, the overall length of the adapter is approximately 58 inches while the portion extending beyond the front of the handtruck is approximately 21 /zinches.

The front and rear end sections and 17 of the frame are contoured to conform to the configuration of the load being moved and prevent lateral sliding of the load during the moving process as more fully shown in 1 FIGS. 3 and 4. The combined weight of the roll of floor material and the curvature of the adapter combine to provide additional stability to the modified vehicle for moving the floor covering.

Referring briefly to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a front view of the adapter mounted in the position shown in FIG. 1. The end members 15, 17 as well as the center support member 19 are contoured to support a cylindrical load such as rolled floor covering and provide three areas of support for the load. The outer members and support struts are numbered to correspond to the same elements in FIG. 2. As shown, the support member 19 has a horizontal support member 19 has a horizontal support which is welded at points 21 and 23 to the frame as shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a front end view of the truck and adapter in the position shown in FIG. 1. The adapter corresponds essentially to that shown in FIG. 3, except the support member 19 is broken away to illustrate the manner in which the blade 9 of the handtruck fits within the opening 25. When the end of the blade is rounded or conical, it facilitates rolling the load off the carrier, after which it can be replaced on the carrier or carried by hand. As a practical matter, the width of the adapter is large enough to carry the heaviest anticipated load but narrow enough to traverse passageways or doorways.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the handtruck with adapter has a slight front to rear tilt when the handtruck is in the horizontal position. This downward projection and the curvature of the end members 15, 17 of the attachment facilitates loading the vehicle by an individual operator. The modified handtruck can be placed alongside the load to be moved, and the front end of material lifted into place on the attachment. The curvature of frame ends 15, 17 will hold the front part of the load in place, while the rear of the load is moved laterally into position. As previously described, the center of the load is positioned approximately at the juncture of blade 9 and support member 19. With wider loads of floor covering, the rear of the load may extend beyond provide the necessary momentum to lift the load. When the destination is reached, the adapter and load are slid off the blade of the handtruck to eliminate lifting of the load during the unloading operation.

The present invention thus provides a simple, inex-5 pensive adapter which combineswith a. conventional handtruck to permit handling of long heavy objects by an individual. The device, due to itslightweight construction, may be hung on a wall when. not in use. Together with the handtruck in a vertical position, the

space required to store the components of the vehicle is insignificant as compared to the storage required of a dolly designed to move such objects. In addition, the handtruck is always available to move other loads for which it is designed.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferredembodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as specified in the following claims.

What is claimed is: l I l 1. An adapter designed for attachment to a hand-- truck for moving long cylindrical objects by an individual comprising a frame of tubular material having a pair of side members and a pairof end members, said end if members being contoured for holding said cylindrical objects in position on said support member, a laterally spaced support member substantially perpendicular to said side members, further support members extending from said laterally spaced support member to different locations on said tubular frame, means connecting said,

support members to said frame and means for attaching said adapter to the blade of said handtruck.

2. Apparatus of the type claimed in claim 1 wherein said further support members extend to the front and side members of said tubular frame.

3. Apparatus of the type claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for attaching said adapter to the blade of said handtruck comprises an opening in the bottom portion of said laterally spaced support member adapted to encompass the blade of said handtruck.

4. Apparatus of the type claimed in claim. 3 wherein the dimension of said opening in said laterally spaced support member is designed to permit rotational. move ment of said adapter about said blade of said handtruck to facilitate removal of said longcylindrical object. l l 

1. An adapter designed for attachment to a handtruck for moving long cylindrical objects by an individual comprising a frame of tubular material having a pair of side members and a pair of end members, said end members being contoured for holding said cylindrical objects in position on said support member, a laterally spaced support member substantially perpendicular to said side members, further support members extending from said laterally spaced support member to different locations on said tubular frame, means connecting said support members to said frame and means for attaching said adapter to the blade of said handtruck.
 2. Apparatus of the type claimed in claim 1 wherein said further support members extend to the front and side members of said tubular frame.
 3. Apparatus of the type claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for attaching said adapter to the blade of said handtruck comprises an opening in the bottom portion of said laterally spaced support member adapted to encompass the blade of said handtruck.
 4. Apparatus of the type claimed in claim 3 wherein the dimension of said opening in said laterally spaced support member is designed to permit rotational movement of said adapter about said blade of said handtruck to facilitate removal of said long cylindrical object. 